Overhead door operating mechanism



July 4, 1961 c. A. sElTH E TAL OVERHEAD noon OPERATING MEcHANIsM 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July ll, 1958 OVERHEAD DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed July ll, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS N #4,?6/6# 4. 55/ 777,/

4r) q) Jef/Af J." ff/a0 1) BY maiz? July 4, 1961 c. A. sEITH ETAL OVERHEAD DooR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed July 11, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a Il M: QN? M I r v d Ilhgolll. Morin W m il@ I n v a .d @M ,w a w i- 5 d United States Patent l OVERHEAD DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Charleigh A. Seith and John .I. Kidd, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The Rade-Matic Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation 'of Maryland Filed July 11, 1958, Ser. No. 747,929 2 Claims. (Cl. S18-475) The present invention relates in general to overhead door operating apparatus, and is more particularly concerned with a novel door operator which is especially adapted for use with garage doors of the vertical roll-up type.

. It is a primary object of this invention to provide garage door operating apparatus which combines the safety and dependability of the best prior devices of this type with uniquely low manufacturing cost.

It is a further important object of this invention to provide such apparatus having substantially fewer moving parts than prior similar devices.

It is still another object of this invention to eliminate all the solenoids and substantially all the micro-switches of the prior art without in any way mparing safety or operational features.

These and other objects and advantages are fully realized in the present invention and in the specific preferred embodiment thereof described and illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specication, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a garage door installation equipped with operating apparatus embodying this invention in preferred form;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side-elevational view of the assembly of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the FIG. 1 assembly;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, enlarged, side-elevational view of the FIG. 1 assembly, showing a part of the automatic motor control means;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a wiring diagram of the door operating apparatus of FIG. 1.

In general, overhead door operating apparatus of this invention comprises a rotatable and endwise reciprocable drive shaft, means resiliently opposing 'longitudinal travel of the drive shaft in each direction, reversing motor means operative to rotate the drive shaft, and a carriage adapted to be connected to an overhead door and supported in driven arrangement with the shaft for travel axially with the shaft whenever the load on the carriage exceeds a predetermined maximum. This apparatus includes in addition a snap switch to operate the motor means, and mechanical switch operating means mounted on the drive shaft for travel with that shaft and disposed to engage and operate the snap switch to stop the motor means whenever endwise travel of the drive shaft in either direction exceeds a predetermined limit.

More specifically and with reference specifically to the drawings, a preferred form of our invention compris a drive tube or shaft 10 journaled for rotation and endwise reciprocation in bearings 11 and 12 carried by end brackets 13 and 14, respectively. The end portions of the shaft are of reduced diameter and compression springs 16 and 17 are disposed on these parts of the shaft in engagement with the end brackets and with annular abutments on the shaft to resiliently oppose endwise travel of shaft 10 relative to its bearings.

Brackets 13 and 14 each comprise two opposed channel members which are bolted together in their overlapping llange portions. Bearings 11 and 12 are disposed in openings in the centers of the webs of the bracket chaniatented July 4., 1961 nels, and the brackets are secured rigidly together by a pair of angle guide rails 23 and 24 located on opposite sides of shaft 10 and welded at their ends to the opposing faces of the bracket webs.

Bracket 14 is secured to garage frame member 25 above the door opening by means of lag bolts (not shown) and bracket 13 is fastened to garage ceiling 26 by means of strap iron 27 and screw and bolt means (also not shown). In the illustrated installation the shaft assembly is suspended in this manner so that shaft 10 extends substantially horizontally 6 inches or so below ceiling 26 with its axis on the centerline of door 29.

Shaft 10 is driven by motor 30 through motor shaft pulley 31, belt 32 and drive shaft pulley or sheave 33 disposed in bracket 13. The direction of rotation of the shaft will be determined by the motor control means as will be described.

Motor 30 is supported below shaft 10 by bed plate 35 which is suspended from guide rails 23 and 24 by flanged hangers 36 and 37 welded to the guide rails and bolted to the bed plate. Bolt means indicated at 39 and 40 secure the motor to the bed plate. A flange 40 formed at one end of plate 35 is received in end bracket 13 for engagement with the near web thereof as seen to the best advantage in FIG. 3.

A carriage 44 is mounted on shaft 10 for travel lengthwise of the shaft as the shaft is rotated by motor 30. The carriage comprises a pair of trucks 45 and 46 and a pair of connecting links 47 and 48 which are bolted to each truck and which carry, respectively, guide rollers 50 and 51 running in guide rails 24 and 23, respectively. Each truck includes a two part body disposed around shaft 10 and radially spaced therefrom and a set of eight rollers 54 rotatably connected to the truck body and extending through openings in said body and engaging shaft 10. Rollers 54 are so related to shaft 10 that as the shaft is rotated in either direction, the carriage is driven through these rollers toward one or the other end of the shaft. The body of truck 45 has a downwardly disposed bifurcated portion 57 to which door arm 5S is pivotally connected by bolt means S9.

The motor control means of this installation includes a snap switch 60 (a double-throw, triple-pole switch) and the mechanical switch operating means comprising rings 62 and 63 secured to shaft 10 by Allen set screws for adinstability. Switch 60 has a paddle 64 extending between rings 62 and 63 so that the paddle will be deflected by one of these rings and switch 60 will be actuated when shaft 10 moves far enough lengthwise. This lengthwise movement of the shaft will result, as those skilled in the art will understand, whenever the load applied to the carriage is sufficiently great to arrest travel of the carriage along the shaft. Such a condition exists when door 29, in either opening or closing, encounters an object which blocks or impedes its travel. It also occurs when the carriage reaches the end of its travel course in either direction and encounters either pair of stationary carriage stops 67 and 68 mounted adjustably on guide rails 23 and 24.

There is by the nature of the motor control means a door inertia factor of greater or lesser dimension effective to overcome certain obstacles to door travel without however adversely affecting the safety factor. Also in accordance with the desires or requirements of the user this inertia factor may be regulated within certain limits to produce the best results. Adjustments for this purpose can easily and quickly be made simply by moving rings 62 and 63 along the shaft to enlarge or reduce the gap between rings and the limit switch paddle.

Switch 60 is disposed in motor control box 70 suspended from bed plate 35. A manual-power switch 72 is mounted on the control box and a socket 74 for receptacle 75 is also provided.

Regarding FIG. 6, it will be observed that switch 72 connects the control circuit to a power source, suitably 11S-volt, 60 cycle, and a fuse 73 stands between switch 72 and said circuit. A transformer 76 (llO-volt primary, 24-volt secondary) serves the system and current is provided thereby to external push button 77 and latching relay 78. Motor starting winding 79 and motor running winding 80 as well as receptacle 75 are controlled by paddle switch 60. A Vtime delay element 82 is provided in the lamp circuit to Vkeep light bulb in receptacle 75 illuminated for 90 seconds following each actuation of switch 60. Light is thereby automatically provided for the period during which one using this apparatus in the usual way may enter or leave the garage.

Having thus described this invention in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled Yin the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, and having set forth the best mode contemplated of carrying out this invention, we state that the subject which We regard as being our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in what is claimed, it being understood Ithat equivalents or modifications of, or substitutions for, parts of the above specificallyl described ernbodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

l. Overhead door operating apparatus including a frame, a drive shaft carried by said frame for rotational and endwise reciprocable movement, means resiliently opposing longitudinal movement'of the drive shaft in each direction, reversing motor means operative to rotate said shaft, a carriage adapted to be connected to an overhead door and supported in driven engagement with the shaft for travel lengthwise thereof, stops fixed to the frame and engageable lby the carriage at the ends of its predetermined stroke, a snap switch operatively connected to the motor means and mechanical switch operating means mounted on the drive shaft for travel therewith and disposed to engage and operate said snap switch to stop the motor means whenever the load applied to the carriage is suiciently great to arrest travel of the carriage along the shaft.

2. The combination of elements set forth in claim l in which the carriage is provided with rollers spaced lapart circumferentially around the shaft and in engagement therewith and having their axes of rotation disposed at an acute angle to the axis of rotation of the shaft.

References Cited `in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,253,170 Dunham Aug 1.9, 1941 

